If you call Jessica Lange a "cougar," she won't understand. A reporter in the backstage press area asked Lange what she thought about them.

"Why have I never heard this before?" Lange asked. "Where have I been?"

The reporter explained to her it was term for older women who target younger men.

"I'm the wrong person to ask," she said. Lange has been with playwright Sam Shepard, 65, since the early '80s.

Lange, who had just accepted an Emmy for lead actress in a miniseries or movie ("Grey Gardens"), was asked how she keeps looking so great at 60.

"I never exercise," she said.

Cherry Jones, who plays the U.S. president in "24," revealed some details about an upcoming episode. Jones was speaking backstage after getting an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series.

The show is now shooting episode 10 of its season in Los Angeles - pretending it's New York.

In this episode, she is "dealing a world leader who is being played by Anil Kapoor from 'Slumdog Millionaire,' " she said.

Jones was asked what she would do about health care if she were the real president.

"I'd go for broke, that's what I'd do," Jones said. "I'd go for universal health care."

After all of the controversy over the producer's attempt to time-shift the presentation of four writing awards, those acceptance speeches have taken the shortest amount of airtime.

One winner gave no speech. "Little Dorrit" writer Andrew Davies was not present to accept his Emmy for outstanding writing in a miniseries, movie or a dramatic special.

"30 Rock" writer Matt Hubbard, when accepting the Emmy for writing in a comedy series, kept his speech short, explaining "I am nervous."

The Writers Guild protested loudly last month when producer Don Mischer said he wanted to pre-tape eight awards to gain time to add more entertainment to the telecast.

Alec Baldwin picked up his eighth Emmy, his second consecutive outstanding lead actor in a comedy award, for his work on "30 Rock."

Baldwin, proving his acting ability, said he was surprised.

"You never, ever dream you're going to win," he told reporters backstage.

Instead of acting, most questions backstage centered around his political ambitions.

"I have a great interest in public service, but seeking public office is another whole ball of wax," Baldwin said.

When asked what guest star he would most like to have on "30 Rock," he said Paul McCartney.

Shohreh Aghdashloo - winner of outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie - is an Iranian, but she portrayed an Iraqi, Saddam Hussein's wife, in "House of Saddam."

Aghdashloo, who fled Iran three decades ago, spoke about international diplomacy backstage. She said she hopes U.S. President Barack Obama would talk seriously with the Iranian government, perhaps even with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. She left no doubt about her loyalties.

"I'm wearing this green bracelet in solidarity with the young people in Iran who shook the world with their civil disobedience and uprising," she said.